little boy blue...

"Blue oblivion, largely lit, 

smiled and smiled at me. "

- William R. Bennett

"Feeling a little blue in January is normal."

-Marilu Henner

"If you don't learn how to fix stuff, mom...it's just not going to work out."

As if I'm going to get fired from my "a mom of boys" job. Evidently, I'm not very good at it.

No, Liam, I might not be adept at putting train tracks together so that they all meet up again. But, really, isn't it OK just every now and again that the trains run off the track and onto the floor. I think it's kind of cool!

But, then those little trains get broken because Thing One and Thing Two throw them around like lassos instead of leaving them on the tracks, where they belong....so there...

And when such tragedy happens to the fellows of Sodor...what then?...the ripped wires present a technical difficulty of sorts...

So Charlie took it open himself to fix the three engines whose plight was at the hands of my two and four year olds. 

He fixed two but duties called him to leave the other for later. 

That wasn't suitable for Thing One. 

So by the minute, we each were asked when Gordon would be fixed. 

And I was threatened, "If you don't learn to fix stuff around here, mom, it's not going to work out for you."

Excuse me?! And then came....gasp...the threat of all threats...

"Mom, if you don't do this, I will be very cross indeed, very very cross indeed." 

Oh, Liam...whatever you do...just don't do be cross...(bahahaha!)

A tumultuous 24 hours passed and Charlie got the tools out....

but not before waffles... (I think the waffle episode was the day before when the first two trains were in the shop)

 a little whining ensued, so Charlie let them go to battle for this bite...

Onto the workshop...

 And hoo-ray (as the boys say) Gordon is on the mend!

craft-time from cracker barrel christmas clearance

I really like alliteration...just ask the gals I work with on the magazine...my headlines are always some alluring alliteration :-)

Yeah, the point...

it always takes me a while...

Today is just a little photo day from after-Christmas craft that we snagged at Cracker Barrel for just under $2 each. 

the boys version of a gingerbread house...which was called a gingerbread garage...

From the Library of Epiphanies...

Not really...
but I couldn't think of a catchy title for this post. 

You may remember back in the summer when I first started to blog, 

I mentioned that I'd had an "epiphany" of sorts and things would be changing, 

from the blog to the business to the life, mostly the life. 

Epiphanies take a while some times. I didn't and don't feel comfortable quite yet writing about it, as I'm not sure what it's all about yet. 

But here's a peek at the books that have had some contribution to this season of epiphanies.

  

Basically, a reality check for the purpose of marriage. 

We all get into it because we want to be happy and we want someone who's going to contribute to that. 

Alas, that is not the point as marriage was designed. 

Time for a perspective shift.

 

Um...a New York Time's Bestseller for a reason...

this is the Chapmans...

and probably not the version you'd have suspected, if you ever thought about it...

Mary Beth is a real person and she's candid, and who can't appreciate that?!

She's no award-winning author, but this book just may change your life...

and there's no way to tell for sure in what way...

and you may not even know until months later...

 

(lying on the table are issues of the magazine that I work for...I was trying to be all artistic with the compass cover blurred out...:-)


Yep, this one's the big one...Radical by David Platt...and it's just that...
though it shouldn't seem radical...
it's not anything we haven't read in the Bible...
but we're comfortable...
with what we want...
and we have blindspots...
big blindspots...

It took us months to read this because we had to chew on some things...
we're still chewing on some things...
Thanks Edliniae, on of the most godly women I know, for giving me a copy...
you never know, I just might do something...radical...

Up next is the reading list that I'm working on:

Operation World is suggested as an accompaniment to the radical experiment, which we're attempting this year...1) read the Bible in a year 2) Pray for every country in the world in a year 3) Serve out of our context at least once this year 4) Give...sacrificially...till it hurts 5) be a part of a community of believers

Operation World has so many resources. There's something about every country in it. It's such a good tool for involving the kids, too. It's not "kid friendly", per se, but it makes you think about stuff and places to teach your kids. There's also a reading/praying plan for the year and a CD in this edition.

 This was actually and Christmas gift for Charlie a couple years ago right after we bought the farm. The Encyclopedia of Country Living. A perfectly great recommendation from a friend that works at our library. It's just a great resource to have around...we read whatever, as needed...it is truly an encyclopedia...

 This is Arwen...who managed to skip out on the Christmas card this year...we tried, but she's a little snob some times and she wants you to beg her to be in pictures, and it just gets old.
I've got three other people to beg to smile for the camera.
She just shows up when she feels like it.
In this case, she wanted something from me...right then...
and she plopped down or pranced around right there in front of the camera until she made her point.

See, I had this just set up so...well...like I wanted it...

 This book...Treehouses and other Cool Stuff...was a Father's day gift two years ago...Now, we have some where to try this stuff out. It's got plans for race cars, forts, zip lines, tree houses, cannons!

 Yep, I really need to read this if I'm going to be a farmer's wife...
I'll let you know how that goes!

 Woody wanted to do a book review...

 Hole in the Gospel...this is written by the president of World Vision, Rich Stearns...just starting it...

 I couldn't help myself...this is just a pile of our all-time faves and ones we return to over and over again.

 Yep, the boys saw all the attention my books were getting,
and wanted a little camera love for their 2010 faves...
of which this Richard Scarry book is the most popular return read...
(At one time, I was collecting all the "pretty" and "vintage" or "classics" and this is one they just love...
some of the rest of my picks just look good on the shelves!)
and The Gruffalo is a close second...
among many, many others.

Book-camera love turned into...
teepee-, or tipi, camera love...

"No, Wee-um, I want to be in front..."

"Now, I can smile...just wanted to make sure the camera could see little ol' sweet me!"

I just love these wild child(s).

But, it's difficult to get some camera love from these two...it takes work...a lot of work.
The books...they pose just fine!

little photo for you

Just for today:

 I love pictures, so here's one for you:

He's saying cheese as he's throwing his head way back. 

He's sweet. He's always happy. 

But, his happy is a very loud happy.

(and yes, the house was a wreck that day. 

But it was before we did our office re-org, 

so it's not like that now :-)

Welcome home little Allie!

Nine months ago, Allie was born.

Last night, she came home...

...from Ethiopia...

(yeah, just grab the tissue...)

Her Ethiopian name, Almaz, means diamonds. And what is more precious than a diamond? Nothing- as far as stones go. It is the most precious, hardest and most expensive.

But, Allie is more precious...to God...and to Joel and Naomi  Johnson.

 

Joel and Naomi's adoption journey officially started about two years ago. But their hearts have been set to adopt for many years. They've planned and hoped and dreamed and saved for it.

This summer they received their first photo of four-month old Almaz. 

She was just so beautiful and I remember thinking  

I cannot wait to take pictures of that baby girl!!!

They had her photo...and there was...

hope...

and then there was waiting...

for months...

 

and apparently, somewhere along the way, all hell got the memo

that this little girl had 

a home and a mom and dad
and a brother 

waiting on her...

After a last-minute, whirlwind trip in October that involved Ethiopian court and a special meeting with Allie's birth mother, Joel and Naomi were officially Allie's parents...

but Allie was still in Ethiopia...

Their three-year old had stayed behind with his aunt and uncle. 

I think a lot about how Naomi must have felt on the journey back home...

without Allie...

and without Luke...

her heart torn between two halves of the world...

Once they returned they would be waiting on word that they could come get her and finalize

the adoption through the U.S. embassy.

In December, they got the phone call. Naomi would leave Christmas Eve for Ethiopia.

But, alas...

just days before she was to leave, the trip was canceled because 

the embassy required paperwork that didn't exist.

Naomi was crushed. 

We were all crushed. 

It might be months...

and we waited...and ten days later....(after a whole lot of praying)

She posted on facebook...

"I am going to get Allie...TOMORROW!!!!"

And you could hear the hollerin' across facebook. 

But the worst was not behind her...

From inclement weather, canceled and delayed flights, to a layover with failed alarm clocks...Naomi barely made her flight to Addis Ababa.

In her words,

"I finally got a hotel room and a new ticket for the next morning, 

I collapsed in bed after setting two alarm clocks which both failed to wake me up. 

Miraculously, I made it on the flight even though I arrived at the airport 15 min before departure, 

but God is faithful, and here I am."

 

She arrived at the orphanage to find Allie had been sick for three days with vomiting and diarrhea. 

The embassy appointment was scheduled for the next morning.

And that appointment was canceled... 

and a whole bunch of people were praying...

Last week Joel and Naomi celebrated their 7th anniversary...a world away from each other...

 This was how the Johnsons looked seven years ago... 

and this is how the Johnsons looked last night

 

She finally got an embassy appointment. It was finally official. But, Naomi did not receive Allie's visa until moments before they were to leave Ethiopia for home. The plane Naomi and Allie were supposed to be on was hit while parked at the airport in Addis Ababa. 

What?! 

I know...and this is just a small snippet of the obstacles Naomi faced and surmounted while on her trip...

But home they came...

 The first moment Luke saw his baby sister and all four Johnsons were together!

can you feel the excitement?!

Welcome to our little corner of the world, Allie Grace Johnson!

We are so happy and thankful you made it!

Luke holds Allie for the first time

And this is the first attempt at the first family photo...

  

 

 It was pretty easy to see that Allie remembered and knew her daddy! And that Joel had dearly missed her...

 And that Naomi missed Luke...

(let me insert here- that if any of these photos don't look tack sharp, it's because I was shaking to try to keep from weeping uncontrollably...)

Allie met Aunt Heather for the first time!

 And Allie knows her brother...and Luke so loves his little sister!

Allie met lots of new friends last night!

Thank you Joel and Naomi for letting us be some small part of this very long journey for you all.

I knew, seven years ago while I watched through my lens as you took your vows and your dear parents prayed over you, that your journey would be a very special one.

Happy 7th Anniversary, Joel and Naomi!

 

 Welcome home Allie Johnson! (which was Jan. 7th)

(I'm noting all the sevens as I type!)

 

 

You can follow their blog The Johnson Journies and read more of their story. 

God is good!